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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.

The new ECHA CHEM database has been released by ECHA, and it now contains all REACH registration data. There are more details on the transition of ECHA's published data to ECHA CHEM here.

Diss Factsheets

Toxicological information

Carcinogenicity

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Administrative data

Description of key information

No carcinogenicity study is available.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Justification for classification or non-classification

No carcinogenicity study is available. In a 90-day toxicity study conducted with alpha-pinene, only alpha 2µ-globulin nephropathy, a male rat-specific pathology, well-known to be irrelevant for humans, was identified. Moreover, in a 90-day toxicity study conducted with alpha-pinene in mice, minimal to moderate hyperplasia observed in the transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder was observed. However, it is a quite common finding in mice and is usually not associated with tumors in oncogenicity studies (Ward et al., 1993; Horn et al., 2007).

Therefore, it is not expected that alpha-pinene may induce hyperplasia or pre-neoplastic lesions relevant for humans. As alpha-pinene, (-)-beta-pinene, delta-3-carene and turpentine oil are structurally related substances, none of these substances are expected to be carcinogenic.

References:

Horn TL et al., Oncogenicity evaluation of resveratrol in p53(+/-) (p53 knockout) mice. Food Chem Toxicol. 2007 Jan;45(1):55-63.

Ward JM et al., Cell proliferation not associated with carcinogenesis in rodents and humans. Environ Health Perspect. 1993 Dec;101 Suppl 5:125-35.

Additional information

No carcinogenicity study is available. In a 90-day toxicity study conducted with alpha-pinene in mice, minimal to moderate hyperplasia was observed in the transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder. However, these effects are not associated with carcinogenesis:

- alpha-pinene and several other related substances have been tested in a number of in vivo and in vitro mutagenicity tests and have been demonstrated to have no mutagenic potential;

- this absence of mutagenicity includes also alpha-pinene urinary metabolites in rats which were not mutagenic in TA 98 and TA 100 (Rockwell, 1979);

- in the 90-day toxicity study with alpha-pinene in rat, the only finding was alpha 2µ-globulin nephropathy, a male rat-specific pathology, well-known to be irrelevant for humans, and kidney cancer which would appear following these lesions would also be considered as non relevant;

- urinary bladder hyperplasia seems to be specific to mice (it was not observed in rats in either sex). It is a quite common finding in mice and is usually not associated with tumors in oncogenicity studies (Ward et al., 1993; Horn et al., 2007).

Therefore, it is not expected that alpha-pinene may induce hyperplasia or pre-neoplastic lesions relevant for humans. As alpha-pinene, (-)-beta- pinene, delta-3-carene and turpentine oil are structurally related substances, none of these substances are expected to be carcinogenic and a carcinogenicity study is not deemed necessary.

References:

Horn TL et al., Oncogenicity evaluation of resveratrol in p53(+/-) (p53 knockout) mice. Food Chem Toxicol. 2007 Jan;45(1):55-63.

Ward JM et al., Cell proliferation not associated with carcinogenesis in rodents and humans. Environ Health Perspect. 1993 Dec;101 Suppl 5:125-35.

Rockwell P and Raw I., A mutagenic screening of various herbs, spices, and food additives. Nutrition and Cancer. 1979 1(4):10-15